China and Russia made another major marketing leap forward in their multi-national push to develop a wide-body passenger airliner to rival Airbus and Boeing.

Mock-ups of the CR929’s cabin and flight deck were unveiled this week at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, China. The new long-range, twin-aisle aircraft is being developed by China-Russia Commercial Aircraft International Corporation (CRAIC), a joint venture between the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) that was founded in May 2017

With a cabin slightly wider than that of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the baseline CR929-600 is expected to seat approximately 280 passengers in a standard, three-class configuration with nine seats abreast in economy class.

The CR929 mock-up was designed by COMAC and the Shanghai Aircraft Design and Research Institute (SADRI), and manufactured by Bloecker Aircraft Interior Design & Engineering (BAIDEG). London-based design firm tangerine, which has a long-term working relationship with COMAC, proposed concepts for the bar area, first- and business-class seating and galley division.

Image via tangerine

Image via tangerine

Image via tangerine

Image via tangerine

Image via tangerine

Image via tangerine

Leveraging its extensive experience with cabin design for British Airways, Asiana, Azul, Virgin Australia and Cathay Pacific, tangerine integrated cutting-edge technology into its proposed design concepts for the CR929’s first- and business-class cabins. Features will include a soft OLED screen, wireless charging and multiple sensors that are incorporated into the seat and work to enhance passenger comfort.

The CR929 will be assembled in Shanghai, with major airframe components supplied by both partner countries. Major aircraft programs like the CR929 are multi-national in scope, and engines, avionics and other systems are likely to come from other countries.

According to reports, the preliminary design phase, and supplier and equipment selection phase – including the plane’s engines – will be completed by the end of 2019. Delivery of the CR929 is expected to begin in the mid-2020s.